The Best Day (Harry and Ginny 2)
by daredyoutokissme
Summary: July 1998: The funerals are over and people are getting their lives back together. For Harry and Ginny, that means it's about time to go on their first date. Harry has been busy at the ministry and Ginny has been busy with her family, so this is their first real chance to be alone after the battle. But are the sparks still there?
1. Back Together

"So how are things with you and Harry?" asked Hermione. "I've hardly seen anyone since I got back." Hermione and Ginny were window shopping in the streets of Muggle London. Hermione had just recently gotten back from Australia.

"Well I guess you probably know we're back together. Harry's planned a date this weekend but he won't tell me what we're doing." replied Ginny.

"Yeah, Ron told me you were back together. I'm glad. Harry needs you."

"So what about you and Ron? I know he's a bit weird about things like that."

"How did you even know?"

"Well Harry told me he saw you two snogging during The Battle."

Hermione blushed. "I like him, and he likes me, but nothing has happened since then. I've really barely seen him."

"I guess so. I like you though, so Ron had better get his act together. Maybe we'll be sisters in law someday."

Hermione laughed. "Hey so if you don't know what you're going to do on this date with Harry, how will you know what to wear?"

Ginny frowned. "Good question. Maybe I'll just pack a bag with different outfits for all occasions. We'll be gone all day according to Harry."

"Good idea. Ooh that's cute, we should go in there."

"Have you been hanging around with Lavender?" asked Ginny as the two girls entered the shop.


	2. Explanation

Ginny stared into her dresser. Hermione had been right, she realised. She had no idea what to wear. Ginny had taken her own advice and packed a bag – a small one with an enlargement charm – full of several outfits, but she still had to get dressed to meet Harry. Ginny thought about what sort of activity Harry might plan. He would want to please her, but he wouldn't want to be bored. Ginny decided on casual, and threw on denim shorts and a white spaghetti strap tank top that tied to make it a keyhole in the front. Perfect.

Ginny ran barefooted downstairs when she heard the doorbell ring. Unfortunately Molly had already ushered Harry in. "Harry!" Molly engulfed Harry in a huge hug. "How are you?"

"Oh, I'm good Mrs. Weasley." replied Harry. He smiled at Ginny over Molly's shoulder.

"Molly, Harry, how many times do I have to tell you?"

Ginny interrupted. "Is this okay for what you have planned?" asked Ginny, gesturing to her outfit.

"Great." replied Harry.

"Be back by ten, Ginny." said Molly "Ten in the evening. Oh, you know what I mean." It was only nine in the morning, so there could have been some confusion, but everyone knew what Molly meant.

"Sure thing Mum." said Ginny. She and Harry said goodbye and walked out of the Burrow.

"I like those sandals Ginny," said Harry "but did you bring sneakers?"

"Yeah." replied Ginny. She dug them out of her bag. "Okay now do I get to know where we're going?"

"You'll see when we get there." Harry took Ginny's arm, as she was not yet seventeen, and apparated away.

They arrived in a forest; sun was streaming through the trees and birds were chirping. "This is pretty. Are we going hiking?" asked Ginny.

Harry nodded. "For a bit. But it's really walking; the paths are all groomed. Is that okay?" Harry looked nervous. He really, really wanted to make Ginny happy.

"Of course." replied Ginny "If we were hiking we couldn't do this." She slipped her hand into Harry's. They started walking through the forest.

"So I was wondering," began Ginny "what were you guys doing all last year? I mean, I know the overall purpose, and I've heard bits, but I guess I'm just curious."

Harry nodded. He wouldn't tell most people, but Ginny wasn't most people, and she deserved an explanation. "After the wedding we eventually went to Grimmauld Place."

"You weren't afraid of Death Eaters getting in there?"

"Well, we knew Mad-Eye had set up some curses, remember?"

"Right."

"Anyway Kreacher knew where Slytherin's locket was. We had to infiltrate the Ministry because Umbridge had it."

"I heard about that."

"Once we had the locket we just traveled around for a while and tried to figure out how to destroy the locket, and where the other Horcruxes might have been. But then Ron left."

"What?" exclaimed Ginny.

"You didn't know that? Well we hadn't made progress in so long and he just couldn't take it anymore."

"I will kill him later."

"Yeah," continued Harry "Hermione felt the same way, but wait until the end of the story until you start making death threats. So Hermione and I went to Godric's Hollow. We met Bathilda Bagshot, but she was really Nagini in disguise."

"That was in the papers, except not the part about Nagini. Seriously?"

"Voldemort knew I would probably go there. I didn't realise because she was speaking Parseltongue, and I can't tell that's what it is unless I'm listening for it."

"But you escaped."

"We went to this forest and I saw this silver doe patronus. It led me to Gryffindor's sword, which was at the bottom of a frozen pond, so I dived in to get it. But I was wearing the Horcrux and it tried to kill me."

"Oh my gosh."

"I know. Luckily Ron showed up, saved me, and destroyed the Horcrux using the sword."

"Hmmm, maybe I won't kill him."

Harry laughed. "Hermione almost took his head off, even though I tried to explain that Ron had saved my life."

Ginny nodded. "So what happened then?"

"We kept seeing this symbol everywhere, and Lovegood was wearing it at the wedding, so we went to see him. He told us it was the Deathly Hallows."

"I've heard the story. And he said they were real, right?"

"Yeah. I figured out that Voldemort was looking for the wand, and I realised the Resurrection Stone was actually the second Horcrux, the ring, which Dumbledore had already destroyed. I also knew my Invisibility Cloak was the Hallow, but I still didn't really know the Hallows' significance. Then we were captured and taken to Malfoy Manor. Bellatrix Lestrange… she tortured Hermione."

"Oh. I didn't know."

"We found Luna, Ollivander, Dean, and Griphook in the cellar. Dobby showed up and helped us escape to Shell Cottage. Dobby… didn't make it. We buried him."

"I'm sorry."

Harry continued with the story. "I realised the Hallows might beat Voldemort, but Hermione wanted to focus on finding the Horcruxes instead of the Hallows. Griphook told us Hufflepuff's cup was in the Lestranges vault so we broke into her vault to retrieve the cup. Then Griphook stole Gryffindor's sword and left us there to be arrested. Hermione was amazingly terrifying. She hopped onto the dragon and we broke out." Harry paused for breath.

"Wow."

"I went into Voldemort's mind on purpose for the first time and found at that the last Horcrux was at Hogwarts. We apparated to Hogsmeade and Aberforth helped us get into the school. Ron and Hermione went to the Chamber of Secrets and destroyed the cup using a basilisk fang. Next we found Ravenclaw's diadem in the Room of Requirement. Crabbe cast a Fiendfyre curse in an attempt to kill us, but he instead destroyed the diadem, the Room of Requirement, and himself."

"Then the battle."

"Right. Voldemort killed Snape because he believed doing so would make him the Elder Wand's true master, since Snape killed Dumbledore. Snape gave me his memories and I used the Pensieve to see them. I discovered that Voldemort accidentally made me into a seventh Horcrux when he attacked me as a baby."

"I did not see that coming."

"So I knew I had to die in order to destroy Voldemort. The memories also confirmed Snape's loyalty to Dumbledore and that his role as a double-agent against Voldemort never wavered after Voldemort killed my mother because Snape loved her."

"He loved her?"

"Snape was mad when he found out I had to die because he had been protecting me all those years. Dumbledore asked if I was growing in him. Snape was mad and he cast his patronus; the silver doe."

"He sent it?"

"Right, but the doe was also my mother's Patronus. Dumbledore asked Snape 'after all this time?' and Snape replied 'always.'"

"That's so sweet."

"I also learned that Dumbledore had less than a year to live when he died, that his death by Snape's hand was per Dumbledore's request, and that Dumbledore knew that I had to die."

"Wow. Again."

"So then I surrendered myself. But I didn't really die. Narcissa Malfoy came to check that I was dead and she told Voldemort that I was. I guess you pretty much know what happened after that." finished Harry.

"I do, but why did she do that?"

"I think she wanted out. The Malfoy's had lost favour with Voldemort. She asked me if Draco was alive and I said he was. That was all she really cared about. I'm pretty sure that they left after that; before the battle was even over."

Ginny hugged Harry. He enjoyed that, but he changed the subject anyway. "I brought something." He pulled out a wizarding camera and snapped a picture."

"I wasn't ready!" yelled Ginny. She took off running and Harry gave chase, snapping pictures all the while. Ginny turned a bend and Harry lost sight of her. He came around the corner and _oooff!_ he was tackled. Ginny grabbed the camera and took a picture of the two of them lying on the ground.

She helped Harry up and they continued walking. At one point Harry climbed a tree, so Ginny took a picture, passed up the camera, and climbed up herself. It made for some nice photos.

By this time it was quite a bit later and the two had walked a long ways. "Ready for lunch?" asked Harry. He held out his arm. Ginny took it and they apparated away once more.


	3. Things To Do In Summer

"This is cute." pronounced Ginny. They had just arrived on the outskirts of a Muggle town. The buildings were a mix of wood and stone. There was just the one main street, which had all the shops on it.

"Shopping, or lunch first?"

Ginny's stomach rumbled. "Lunch." she decided.

"Oh good." said Harry "I was starving." They laughed.

As it turned out, there was only one restaurant in town. They sat next to the window and watched the Muggles walking by.

"You know, I've always hated summer." said Harry. "That was when Dudley and his friends could have free rein. And Hogwarts was so amazing that how could I ever love summer?"

"Maybe you'll like it now. There are so many things to do in summer. The weather's so nice."

"Yeah that's what I planned this date about. All the summer stuff I wanted to do and never could."

"We never did any vacations either. Just day trips, but it was still fun."

"Must have been."

"One time we went camping. But we didn't book a campsite; we just set up in the backyard. There were strict rules about going into the house, because Mum and Dad wanted it to be like a real vacation."

The waitress came over. "Are you ready to order?"

"Yes." said Ginny "I think so. We'll both have the special."

"And to drink?" asked the waitress, whose name was Lia.

"I'll have the fruit smoothie." said Harry. "And you wanted ice tea, right Ginny?"

"Yes please."

"Right away." Lia smiled and hurried away.

"I've never been on a date with a guy that ordered a fruit smoothie." smirked Ginny.

"This is only my second date." replied Harry. "It's going much better than the first. Mostly because you're here."

"I agree. This is definitely the best date I've ever been on so far."

"To be fair, what kind of date can you really plan at Hogwarts?"

"True. Though I'm sure you would have come up with something." said Ginny as the drinks arrived. They toasted. "Wow this is good." exclaimed Ginny. "Let's never drink Pumpkin Juice again."

"I always used to get water at the Dursley's, but Hermione mentioned once that it was hard to adjust. I mean, wizards only have Pumpkin juice for every day, tea as a hot drink, and Butterbeer for a treat. That's not many options."

"I never thought about it, but I guess that's true. Only you forgot Firewhisky."

"Let's swap." suggested Harry. They did so.

"They both have a very summery taste." noted Ginny. "Oh, here comes our food."

The two dug into the salad, which was full of chicken and tomatoes and cheese. They were silent after that; it was so good. Then they paid and exited the restaurant. It was about noon.

"Let's get ice cream." offered Harry.

"Okay, but I feel bad that you're paying for everything."

"I don't know Ginny. I mean your family let me stay at your house for weeks at a time, fed me three meals a day, and I know that that's what friends do, but I was never able to return the favour."

"Harry. You're part of the family. I have seven brothers, yes counting Fred."

"Thanks." replied Harry "Although I don't really want to be your brother."

Ginny laughed. "Alright. Let's get ice cream." agreed Ginny. "After your drink choice I'm sure you'll want strawberry." she teased.

To annoy Ginny, Harry did get strawberry, while she got chocolate. They took another photo of them holding their ice creams. They were afraid to ask someone else to take it because of the wizarding camera.

They walked along the street and peeked in the store windows. After a while they made a game of it, picking out souvenirs for everyone, though they weren't really going to buy them.

"Ready for the next stop?" asked Harry.

"You bet."


	4. Swimming

"I'm glad I brought a swimsuit." commented Ginny. Harry had brought them to a beach on a nice lake.

"Oh, I hoped you would. We can change over there."

Harry let Ginny go first. "Wow." said Harry when Ginny came out from behind the bushes, wearing only a white bikini.

Ginny hit him with her towel. "Get changed."

Harry did. He frowned when he returned. "The clouds came out while we were changing. It was nice when we got here."

"Perfect swimming conditions Harry!" Harry looked confused so Ginny explained. "The water's been warming all day in the sun. Now the air's cooled down. That way it won't be too cold when we go in."

"Oh. I've never actually been swimming before." added Harry. "Unless the Triwizard Tournament counts, but I had the advantage of gills and flippers."

"Hopefully you'll figure it out."

They waded into the water. "It's freezing! You must have been wrong." exclaimed Harry.

"Baby." teased Ginny. "Whoever gets in last is a rotten egg!" she splashed into the water.

"Hey!" Harry ran after her. They both dunked under.

Ginny came to the surface first; hair soaked. When Harry came up she tackled him. He retaliated by picking her up and throwing her away a few feet.

"Woohoo!" She yelled.

"Teach me to swim?" asked Harry.

"Float on your back." Harry attempted this. Ginny laughed. "Uh, no. Here." She cupped his head with her hands. "Lay back. Stomach up." Harry managed this. "Good but you have to breathe." said Ginny to the red-faced Harry. "Alright I'm taking my hands away."

"Okay it's not so bad." decided Harry. "Now what?"

"Flip to your stomach. Head to the side." Harry obeyed. "Alright, ready?" Harry nodded. "Face in the water. Blow bubbles out your nose. Count to three, and then head back to the side."

Harry came up. "Good. Now kicking. Kick your feet, just gently. Face in the water, up on three."

Harry went a ways. "I'm moving!" he yelled. Unfortunately this caused him to go under. He came up spluttering.

Ginny laughed. "Yes you were. Now just pull with your arms like this." Ginny swam over to Harry.

Harry swam away, but Ginny caught up so he splashed her. "Harry!" she shrieked. They ended up having a splashing fight. Harry won, and then they decided to build a sandcastle.

"Perfect." proclaimed Ginny when they were finished.

"Kneel next to it, we'll take a picture."

Ginny kneeled. "It's not nearly as good as Hogwarts."

"I think it's a very nice sandcastle." Harry defended the castle, which they had adorned with shells.

Ginny went over and laid on her towel. Harry copied her. "The sun feels amazing." said Ginny after a moment. Harry didn't respond, and soon the two were sleeping.

Ginny woke up. The sun was quite a bit lower in the sky, and they had been asleep for almost three hours. She was glad they had remembered to perform a sunscreen charm. Ginny got up slowly, not wanting to wake Harry. She wanted to get him back for the splash fight earlier. She filled one of the buckets they had used to make the sandcastle with water.

Ginny filled the bucket with water and dumped it on Harry. He jumped up. "Ginny!"

Harry forgave Ginny. They went swimming again for another short while and then they rinsed off and got dressed.

"Well, should we get going?" asked Harry.

"There's more?" asked Ginny. "I hope today never ends." she decided as she took Harry's arm.

"Me neither. Only one problem. How am I ever going to top this?"

They laughed. "Well," said Ginny "as long as you're there it will be perfect."


	5. Evening

They apparated to a cliff top. "Windy up here." noted Ginny.

"That's good." announced Harry. Ginny looked at him quizzically. "We'll need that for kite flying."

He produced two kites. Ginny took one. They let the string out and helped the kites catch the wind. "This is nice, but aren't kites for little children?" asked Ginny. She had never flown a kite before; they were for Muggles.

"Yeah. But I never had a childhood." Harry pretended to be sad.

"Poor baby." replied Ginny sarcastically, although she thought it was awful.

"What was your childhood like?" asked Harry. He could have guessed, but he wanted to hear it from Ginny.

"Well for the most part I was fawning all over you."

Harry had forgotten about that. He smirked. "And you still love me after all this time?"

Ginny looked him straight in the eyes. "Always." she said in a dead serious tone. Then she took off running with the kite. Harry followed her, watching the kites do the same above them.

"Always." he whispered.

When the sun started to go down Harry pulled out a picnic blanket.

"What's for dinner?" asked Ginny.

"Hotdogs."

Harry cooked the hotdogs with his wand and they covered them in toppings.

"So what did you do last year?" asked Harry. Ginny launched into the story, which lasted until they were finished eating.

Harry hugged Ginny. "Sounds horrible. I'm sorry. Are you up for dessert?"

"Sure." agreed Ginny. Harry made Ginny close her eyes and then after a moment he put something in her hand. She tried it with her eyes still closed.

"Harry! This is amazing!" Ginny's eyes flew open.

"It's called a s'more."

"I'll have s'more." joked Ginny. "Okay what is up with these Muggles? I never knew their food was this good."

"Me neither." said Harry as he bit into his s'more. "Although I have a feeling Aunt Petunia was not giving me the best example of quality cuisine."

They finished eating. "Are we going home now?" asked Ginny.

"Not quite yet. Just wait. Something will happen."

They had to wait quite a while, so Ginny cuddled up to Harry. Then it began.

"Ooh, fireworks. Cool Harry."

They watched the orange and blue fireworks streak across the sky. Harry looked at Ginny. She looked at him. The leaned in and their lips met. It was a good minute before they broke apart.

"Fireworks." said Ginny. Harry nodded. He knew exactly what she was talking about. He had felt the fireworks too.


End file.
